XH558
'' |image= |caption= |designation=Avro Vulcan |version=B.2 |c/n= |firstflight=1 July 1960 |lastflight=October 2015 |featuredin=''BBC Breakfast'' 28 October 2015. Inside Out - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire 2 November 2015 Guy Martin: Last Flight of the Vulcan Bomber. |fate=Exhibit }} =History= The first Vulcan B.2 in RAF service, XH558 was delivered from the factory at Woodford, near Manchester, to RAF Waddington near Lincoln on 1 July 1960. XH558 was also the last Vulcan to leave RAF service, flying on from 1986 to 1993 as the single RAF Display Vulcan, a career of 33 years. Her final flight was on 23rd March 1993 to Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire, having been sold off by the Ministry of Defence to C Walton Ltd, a family firm who purchased and maintained her, with the thought that one day, she might be returned to fight. In 1997, a small team headed by Dr Robert Pleming started to put together an audacious plan to return her to flight, but it was clear from the start that the project would be technically challenging & enormously expensive. Never deterred, the team set off down the path that led to XH558's return to the air.http://www.vulcantothesky.org/history/the-558-story.html In 1998, at the recommendation of what was then British Aerospace, Marshall of Cambridge Aerospace was identified as having the skills, capabilities, quality control and experience in one-off aircraft projects to satisfy the Civil Aviation Authority that the work required on XH558 would be done properly. Marshall Aerospace agreed to act as the Engineering Authority for the restoration project in 1999. Over 1998-2000, the start-up team confirmed the formal support of all the manufacturers needed to help XH558’s restoration, and completed a technical review which showed there were no show-stoppers. The real challenge was money – first estimates were that over £3.5 million would be required to pay for the restoration. Eventually a successful bid was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund, who in December 2003 announced a grant of £2.7 million for XH558’s restoration, and a large grant for a sister project, the exciting new National Cold War Exhibition at RAF Cosford near Wolverhampton, shown here. Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome All the work on the aircraft was supervised on site by Marshall Aerospace technicians under the approvals granted to Marshall by the CAA. In addition, significant amounts of engineering design work were carried out by staff in the Marshall Aerospace's Cambridge Aircraft Design Office, including approvals of repairs and replacement materials, safety cases for removal of systems, and the necessary changes to aircraft documentation. The combination of on-aircraft technical support and back-office design support made Marshall Aerospace uniquely well-suited to the Vulcan restoration project.http://www.vulcantothesky.org/history/restoration.html After extensive tests, XH558's Olympus engines were started up for the first time in August 2007. A further two months of testing on the ground followed, to ensure that XH558 was 100% ready for flight. All the test flights were performed under Marshall Aerospace's supervision, planning and approvals, and utilised Marshall's significant experience in flight testing. Finally, 14 years after its last flight & with over £7 million spent, Vulcan XH558 roared into the air again on Thursday 18th October 2007, a perfect day for flying. XH558 was finally granted her Permit to Fly on 3rd July 2008, and returned to air displays two days later at a packed RAF Waddington Airshow, her former home.http://www.vulcantothesky.org/history/return-to-flight.html During the 2015 display season, the three expert companies – BAE Systems, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group and Rolls-Royce, together known as the ‘technical authorities’ - collectively decided to cease their support, resulting in the aircraft being grounded. =Bibliography= * Birtles, Philip.The Avro Vulcan: Britain's Cold War Warrior. London: Midland (Ian Allan Publishing), 2008. ISBN 978-1-8578-0269-6. * Cotter, Jarrod. "Fifty years of '558." Avro Vulcan (Aviation Classics Issue 7). London: Mortons Media Group Ltd., 2010. ISBN 978-1-906167-38-7. * Cubitt, Duncan and Ken Ellis. Vulcan: Last of the V-Bombers (Osprey Classic Aircraft) London: Osprey Publishing, 1997. ISBN 978-1-8515-2968-1. * Dancey, Peter G. The Avro Vulcan: A History. Oxford, UK: Fonthill Media, 2014. ISBN 978-1-7815-5232-2. * Pleming, Dr. Robert. The Life & Times of the Avro Vulcan, a British design icon. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Vulcan to the Sky Trust, 2010. External links * Vulcan to the Sky Trust - XH558 * Your Vulcan Needs You * Test flight at RAF Fairford on 11 July 2008 from the BBC. * Take-off at the Farnborough Air Show (UK) on 20 July 2008. =Sources= Category:Avro Vulcan